Elevated Over Me
by Shonashee
Summary: In which Charlotte takes a journalism class without realizing the implications of a journalist and a superhero (well...sidekick), and some other stuff happens. When did her life get so messy?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys. I present to you the first chapter of my new piece. I'm really proud of this as a whole, it's the longest thing I've written to date. The other chapters are already done, I'm just in the process of editing.**

 **There's going to be a lot of good stuff in this, I promise. And I know there are OCs, but I promise they serve plot purpose and are hopefully as minimally annoying as possible, especially by the end. Just trust me on this and stick with me. You won't regret it. Do it for the Chenryyyyy.**

 **Disclaimer~ I don't own Henry Danger.**

* * *

"So you're the frosh?"

Charlotte turned around to see a tall, Asian girl with her head cocked. Next to her was girl with curly red hair tied back in a braid, and another short (but not shorter than herself) girl with brown, cropped hair.

"Hi?" Charlotte awkwardly said, nearly cringing when she realized she had made it sound like a question. _Confident. Be confident,_ she internally screamed. _You're a freshman in a junior-level journalism class. Don't be weird._

"What's your name?"

"Charlotte." She crossed her arms defensively in front of her chest.

The Asian girl who had been speaking to her suddenly sported a grin. "I'm Emmy."

The short girl nodded, not in an unfriendly manner, in acknowledgement. "Hi, I'm Lilah."

Charlotte smiled at them, instantly feeling a bit more comfortable. If people were going to talk to her, this class may not be a total, isolated hell after all.

The redhead made no move to introduce herself however, instead staring her down. Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "What's with her?"

"Oh, this is Georgie. Don't mind her," Emmy said. "She gets crazy competitive, especially in school. She's probably wondering how you were so advanced to get into a junior class."

"Hi, Georgie," Charlotte tried to smile kindly.

Georgie scoffed. When she spoke, Charlotte immediately found her voice grating on her nerves. It was so _pretentious_. "I know you didn't skip two grades or anything. So how are you here?"

"I'm in LIMP, so I can join the junior electives if I want."

At this, Georgie smirked. "Yeah, I'm in LIMP, too. I'm actually a sophomore."

"Okay," Lilah said quickly, as if she were throwing water on flames to avoid a fire. "Bond over your nerdiness in your weird glaring ways later. Mr. Lim is here."

* * *

Henry and Jasper had their last period free while she had her elective, so they had promised to wait for her so they could head to Junk N' Stuff together. When Charlotte came out, she was surprised to see Henry asleep on Jasper's shoulder as the boys sat on the stairs. Jasper paid Henry no mind, instead furiously texting someone.

"Hey?" She said as she sat down on Henry's other side."What's with him?"

"Ray called him last night," Jasper replied, almost dismissively.

Charlotte frowned, taking a seat on Henry's other side. "I thought Ray said he'd stop doing that after the first couple weeks."

"You knew then, too?" Jasper finally looked up from his phone. "From the first week?"

"Well, no." Charlotte looked away. "I figured it out around then since he was always tired. After I knew for sure, it kind of all made sense, like the comically large pitcher of coffee. Anyway, I made Ray add it to the contract that he wouldn't call us at unreasonable times if it wasn't the end of the world or the weekend. I mean, the man did his job on his own for years, he can handle a few nights if Henry isn't with him."

Jasper quietly accepted her answer with a nod, before returning to his phone. This time, he didn't type on it like before, instead staring at it with a crestfallen expression. Charlotte bit her lip. She knew she had just avoided what Jasper actually wanted to talk about. And if he was going to look like kicked puppy like that, she'd be feeling guilty all day. She sighed.

"Henry did care for you, even though he didn't tell you." Charlotte said. "He does love you. I bet he wanted to tell you from the beginning. We wanted to tell you so many times, and we even pretended to date so you'd prove you can keep a secret. He was willing to give up being Kid Danger for you, and I've never seen him be so passionate about anything than this job. So it means a lot, he'd only give up the most important thing in his life for an important person. "

"Thanks, Char," Jasper looked up, clearly more cheery than before. "You always know what to say."

"Well, that's what I do," Charlotte smiled at him knowingly. "Keep all you cloudcuckoolanders down to earth."

They sat in silence for a few more moments, smiling at each other, when Jasper's eyes suddenly widened in realization.

"Wait, so you guys actually never dated?" Jasper straightened from his slouch, causing Henry to grumble and shift onto Charlotte instead.

Charlotte felt her cheeks become warm. "No, that was Ray's idea to see if you could keep a secret before we told you the real one."

"Oh," Jasper said, obviously more surprised than he allowed himself to let on.

"Oh? What 'oh'? Why 'oh'?" Charlotte rapidly fired, suddenly self-conscious.

"I figured you guys just wanted it to be a secret since he was still with Bianca and he wanted to figure out how to break up with her before you went official," Jasper said. "But this does make more sense."

Charlotte heaved a sigh of relief, glad that Jasper's only issue had been the fact that Henry was already dating someone back then. She couldn't help but wonder slightly about that. While they had pretended to be boyfriend and girlfriend, Bianca had hardly crossed her mind. At the very least, it seemed like Jasper was done.

But then the corners of his lips lifted the slightest bit. "And I thought it was real. Like, your feelings for each other."

"What?!" She shouted. Hastily, she looked down, making sure she hadn't woken Henry up. That was not a situation she wanted to get into right now.

"Yeah," Jasper said, all-knowingly. "You have that old married couple vibe. Arguing but it's because you care, appreciating each other for sticking around so long, and just looking out for each other."

Charlotte swallowed hard. "We all do that." She cringed at how strangled her voice came out.

"Not like you two."

She looked down at the blonde boy who had now curled around her left side, his head on her shoulder, a small smile curving his lips. She narrowed her eyes the slightest bit, wondering if he was actually asleep or if he had just heard everything. It wouldn't be the first time they pretended when it came came to each other.

* * *

As the first couple months of the semester went by, Charlotte found herself actually enjoying the class. Henry, of course, didn't understand why she'd burden herself like that with a higher-level additional class. But the extra work was easy to handle since she wasn't the one running around the city in a mask, saving citizens left and right.

And it definitely helped that the older girls she had met invited her into their group. As Lilah said: "You need some more female company. Those fuckbois [presumeably Henry and Jasper] got nothing on us."

They were all really nice, if not stressed over SATs. Emmy was friendly to everyone they met, and made an extra effort to be nice to people she believed were uncomfortable. Journalism had actually been her second choice (AP Psychology being her first), but wasn't sure how she actually felt about it.

"At the very least, I'll be able to learn how to write better. That could be helpful for academic papers and stuff, right?" had been her response when Charlotte had asked.

Lilah, on the other hand, was very much interested in blogging about social activism. Journalism focused on current events, and to her, the skills from the class were exactly what she needed to be more invested and aware of the media. She was sarcastic and very much a realist.

Georgie wanted acknowledgement. She was all about reaching high and the power that came with. That in itself wasn't bad. Charlotte could appreciate a big dreamer. She herself dreamt of one day coming in first in the Gizmo Show with her own invention which she wouldn't have to wreck immediately after winning. But it was annoying, how Georgie clearly didn't appreciate her presence in their little group. Apparently her competitiveness went beyond academics to popularity as well. And to her, a way to get to the top was to hang out with people at the top. That meant the older kids, i.e. Emmy and Lilah. And Charlotte being younger did not help.

But since Georgie never voiced her dissent to the group (probably out of fear of rejection), all was well. Charlotte found herself getting along with all of them, even Georgie, who was really fun during the times she stopped thinking about herself as much.

Then came the assignment.

"When it comes to journalism, you need connections." Mr. Lim paced around the room as he talked, back and forth, like a pendulum. It was both distracting and a good way to keep eyes on him. "You need to be able to talk to people, get in touch with people in high places. So as your final project, I want you to interview someone who is high profile. I don't care how you know them, through a meet-and-greet once or if you're related to them. I don't care what industry they're in. They could be a famous singer or Cosa Nostra for all I care. But they must. Be. Known. Are we clear on that? Good. This will be due at the end of January. You have over two months. Don't wait until the last week to see if Kim Kardashian is available."

* * *

"I'll be his Mary Jane Watson. His Lois Lane. His Iris West!"

"I'm pretty sure Lois Lane wasn't a journalist." Emmy awkwardly said.

"Every superhero needs a faithful newswoman reporting for and about him."

"He's more like a sidekick." Charlotte snorted.

"I even have the red hair!"

"Only Iris and Mary Jane had red hair. And that's only in the comics." Lilah pointed out.

"This is my chance! Once he sees me, _talks_ with me, Kid Danger will fall head over heels for me. This was destined."

Georgie had not stopped to even breathe once after Mr. Lim had given the assignment. It had been non-stop chatter. She'd found her way to the top, not just in the school, but in their city: being with the one person who commanded the most respect and admiration in Swellview.

Well, actually, Captain Man was too old and it was very illegal, so his protege would do.

This was definitely the most hyped up Charlotte had ever seen her. It was a little bit scary, just how much Georgie wanted it.

And then there was _that_ thing Georgie had brought up. Charlotte hated to admit it, but there definitely was a pattern. She never would have taken this journalism class if she had realized the major implications that came with being a journalist with a superhero (sidekick) as your friend.

"What do you even think of Kid Danger, anyway? Other than an ends to a mean?" Charlotte asked, more out of sympathy for her best friend that actual curiosity for Georgie's objective. "I mean, do you actually like him?"

"Well… he is kind of cute...right?"

Georgie looked back at the group. Charlotte thanked god that she was dark enough that a blush wasn't visible. Nonetheless, she could feel her face growing hot as blood rushed up to her cheeks. On the other hand, Emmy and Lilah looked unfazed.

"I'm super gay," Lilah decidedly said. "If you hadn't noticed with the hair and the flannel."

"I'm also super gay," Emmy chipped in. "But I do have eyes. Yeah, he's really cute. But he definitely looks younger."

"He does have a bit of a baby-face," Charlotte said.

The group stared at her, clearly confused by her remark and wanting elaboration. Charlotte shrugged.

"I'm guessing," she supplied.

"Well," Georgie said, effectively turning all eyes back to her. "His voice is a lot deeper than when he first started, and he's taller. He had a pretty obvious growth spurt about a four months after he first showed up, so he was probably about 12-14 when he started. Which means he's 14-16 now. And I'm 15. It's perfect."

"Fair enough," Lilah said. It didn't seem like she was listening anymore, though, just using filler words whenever there was a gap.

Charlotte tried not to let any emotion other than boredom show on her face. But really, she was a little impressed. Henry had just turned 15 a month ago. Although a part of her knew that given she was in the same situation as Georgie, it wouldn't have been difficult to figure out his age to as close a precision as she had, if not closer.

She must have zoned out though, because when she snapped her head up, Georgie was starrily rambling about how absolutely brave Kid Danger was for sticking by Captain Man even though he could get hurt. Huh, seemed liked the infatuation had moved beyond just social standing to something more. Charlotte ignored the panic she felt following that realization.

* * *

"So...you know your little friend, Georgeanne Finchley?" Ray asked. Charlotte winced. She could immediately tell from the sound of his voice that he wasn't happy. "Yeah, get this. There we were on this mission. It was an easy mission. All we had to do is guard a rock! Just watch the Moon or Sun or Pluto or wherever the stupid thing is from Rock! Make sure it gets to the Swellview museum safely! And you know what happens?!"

Charlotte gave a hopeful smile. "You completed it with no obstructions?"

"HAH! NOPE! Nope!" Ray's eyes were comically bugging out at this point. "Nah, your little friend, she comes up to us right while we're active! And then, oooooh, and _then_ , she latches onto Henry! Who starts flailing to get her off! And that's when a robber tries to attack me since this fangirl is holding Kid Danger in place! And this isn't even the first time! This girl has followed us to literally every crime scene in the last two weeks and been in the way! What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Well, it's not my fault!" Charlotte said.

"C'mon, Ray, don't be so hard on her," Henry said from the side. Any authority in his voice, however, was undermined by the pack of frozen peas he was holding to his left eye. "She wasn't even there. And it's not like she can control her friends."

"That girl is the reason the stupid space rock was almost stolen in the first place!" Ray yelled.

"But it wasn't, Ray, we stopped the the robber, so calm down! It was only stupid Jeff anyway!" Henry replied.

"Okay, fine! But she also caused you to get hurt on duty, kid!"

"Actually, this," Henry deadpanned as he pointed to his eye. "This was all you."

"Oh yeah," Ray said, evidently remembering accidentally punching his own sidekick in the face.

"Okay, guys," Charlotte cut in. She knew very well that it wasn't her fault, but she should shoulder the responsibility. "I'll talk to her, but no promises."

"Fine!" Ray said, walking out.

As soon as he left, Charlotte left her seat at the computers to go to the couch which Henry was leaning against.

"Need some help with that?" she smirked.

"Please," he begged.

She indicated for him to sit down as she picked up her backpack and rummaged in it. When she found what was looking for, she plopped down beside Henry and faced him.

"Let me see," she said. He didn't hesitate to put down the bag of frozen peas and let her see his shiner in all its glorious beauty. "Yikes!"

"Is it worse than before?" Henry asked.

"Uh, no." Henry raised an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe a little."

"Good that you admitted it," he said. "It actually hurts to raise the brow, I don't know if I could have kept that up. Ow."

"Oh no," Charlotte sarcastically said, turning to the objects on her lap. "How will you use your smolder to make all the other girls swoon?"

Henry caught her wrist as she unscrewed the cap on a bottle of concealer. She looked up at him, only to find her breath caught in her throat at the intensity of his stare. What was he doing?!

He leaned in, until his forehead was a hair away from grazing hers. Charlotte couldn't tear her eyes away. She didn't know how she had never seen it before, but even despite the discoloration from the bruising around his left eye, Henry was so _pretty_.

"What other girls?" he whispered, his breath fanning across her face.

She harshly made a strangled choking sound.

Suddenly, he let go of her and started laughing.

"What the heck, Henry?!" Charlotte shoved at his chest, and flopped back against the seat.

"I had you going there for a second though, didn't I?" Henry gave her a cheshire grin.

"See, I was going to be nice and use this concealer to cover up your stupid bruise so you wouldn't have to go home with a black eye, but now, you're gonna go home with two."

"Wait, no!"

As Charlotte chased him around the Man Cave, she tried not to pay attention to her heart still beating a mile a minute.

* * *

"So, who's this aunt we're going to meet?" Emmy asked as Lilah weaved them between groups of adults.

They were currently in the lobby of a fancy office building in Midtown Swellview. Lilah had dragged them here after proclaiming she had someone to interview and she wanted them there with her.

"Mary Gaperman," Lilah replied with a smirk.

"No way!" Emmy exclaimed, drawing the attention of a few people nearby. "THE Mary Gaperman from the daily news? The one who completely slayed as a moderator in the debate last week for the mayoral election?"

"Nah, Mary Gaperman the janitor," Lilah replied. When she received blank looks, she sighed. "It was a joke."

While Emmy and Lilah continued to banter ahead of them, Charlotte hung back with Georgie, who seemed to be seriously contemplating something. Judging by how her eyes had lit up when she recognized Mary Gaperman's name, she was probably planning the best way to suck up and secure an internship.

"Hey, Georgie?" Charlotte hesitantly asked.

Georgie's head snapped up. "What?"

Charlotte's brow furrowed. That tone hadn't been necessary. "Nothing, just, have you gotten the assignment done yet?"

Georgie bit her lip. "Not yet. I've been following Captain Man and Kid Danger, and I always show up at scenes I know they'll be at. But I can never get a word from them."

"Probably because they're too busy fighting to keep the city safe?" Charlotte deadpanned. "Of course they won't pay attention to you, it'd be distracting."

Georgie's nostrils flared. "Are you implying that _I'm_ an inconvenience?" she hissed.

"No!" Charlotte hastily replied, hoping to god that Emmy or Lilah would turn around to look at them and save her. "No, just- they're busy doing their job then. You should try to schedule a meeting with them when they're not, y'know, fighting crime."

Georgie put her finger to her chin. "I guess that's true. But how could I reach them? The hotline is for emergencies only."

"Well, then, show up at the scene, but wait until their job is done," Charlotte suggested helpfully. "That way, they'll be relaxed and in a good mood so they won't mind stopping to talk to you."

Georgie nodded the slightest bit. "Huh, thanks." There was an awkward silence that followed, and Georgie looked up, her brow furrowed as if she was conflicted. "So, uh, who are you interviewing?"

Charlotte was taken aback for a second. Was Georgie actually trying to be nice? It wasn't the first time this had happened, with the redhead doing a 180. Well, maybe not a complete 180, but at least a 90. She recalled all the other times Georgie had made more of an effort to get to know her, and smiled to herself.

"Well, I was thinking maybe Captain Man, since you already claimed Kid Danger," she said.

Georgie smirked, but this time, it was more teasing than haughty. "You've got that right."

As the two girls continued to talk amiably, Charlotte couldn't help but reconsider her opinion of the redhead. They definitely had some things in common. And Georgie hadn't been mean all the time, just whenever she felt challenged. Even in her small moment of selfishness of wanting to be with Kid Danger for the fame had quickly passed in favor of recognizing his heroism. Maybe Charlotte had just misunderstood her.

She only wished she had never brought up Kid Danger, as Georgie had started rambling about how even when he was trying to shake her off at the museum, he was still being a gentleman.

She gave her potential new friend a weary smile, and tried not to think about her best friend giving special consideration to other girls. After all, despite what he had said the other night in the Man Cave, she knew where she stood.

* * *

 **A/N: You've made it to the end of the first part! Thanks so much for reading. It's all just exposition and set-up so far. The real action starts next chapter.**

 **Again, I have the rest already written, I just have to edit. So please favorite, follow, and most importantly to me, review! It all motivates me to work faster and get more content to you guys.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys! Thanks so much for all your positive feedback last chapter. I loved reading all the reviews and seeing the emails for the favorites and follows as they rolled in. It really means a lot. And I forgot to mention it last time, but for anyone who didn't catch on, the scene in the Man Cave last chapter was inspired by The Flash.**

 **I now present part two. We finally get to all the action and drama. I think you guys will all really enjoy this part. Everything I do is for you guys.**

 **Disclaimer~ I don't own Henry Danger.**

* * *

"Honestly, there's a line between media and entertainment," Mary said.

Lilah had brought a whole list of questions and topics, while Emmy was holding up a recorder to Mary Gaperman. After the initial shock had run out, the woman had gathered them at a coffee table just off the set, and as the were talking, the girls found themselves hanging onto her every word. Meanwhile, her co-anchor, Trent Overunder, was getting his make-up done on the other side or the broadcasting room. Occasionally, he and Mary would throw each other really nasty glares. It was funny at first, but after a bit, Charlotte became worried that they might actually have to help someone hide a body.

"You might have noticed that I'm often the butt of many jokes on the Daily News," Mary continued, eyes flashing. "Am I really stupid and annoying? Maybe, but that has no place on the news. And if I was stupid, I wouldn't be Trent's superior, now would I? But they need views, so they make a bunch of jokes about the female anchor because she can be the dumb blonde, an easy target. Most of my own lines are scripted, too, it's almost all teleprompter."

"Can I please beat up your execs for you?" Lilah decidedly said.

"I wouldn't worry about that, dear," Mary replied with a wink. "I'm quitting in a couple weeks and might just bring them a lawsuit unless I am offered proper compensation. After all, I am a political scientist, I know what to do. I can file for libel and slander or misstating the terms on the contract or something. I just have to figure out the specifics."

"Go aunt Mary!" Emmy cheered.

Charlotte couldn't help but really admire Mary. She definitely was smarter than she had given the lady credit for while watching TV. And it wasn't fair how her executives and producers treated. Maybe, she could get a certain superhero to validate Mary's legitimacy on a live interview...hm, but Evelyn Hall would get upset, wouldn't she? Bad publicity from her wouldn't bode well.

Just then, there was a number of loud shouts in the other side of the room. Charlotte frowned. Where was that whooshing sound coming from? Her feet suddenly felt cold. Looking down, she gasped to see the floor was covered in a thin layer of water. And judging by the sound, the room was still being filled. Someone was trying to flood them.

"The hell…" Georgie said.

"Aww, these converse were new!" Lilah complained. She took off her shoes, only to realize her socks had soaked through as well. "And now I have wet socks! Thanks a lot, God!"

"What the heck is going on?!" Emmy shouted over the chorus of voices ringing out similar sentiments.

Charlotte looked around. There was nothing around that would be allowing a flood. Even the sprinklers weren't on. She jumped up despite the protests of her group and ran behind the only place they couldn't see past- the screen that was set up as the background for the news. Almost instantly, she was nearly knocked over by the force of a jet of water. Quickly moving back, she saw an industrial window on the ceiling was open with a massive pipe coming through, streaming water at a high velocity. Looking out, the pipe was draped over the roofs of neighboring buildings. If she had to take a guess, it was probably connected to the water tower half a mile away.

Quickly, Charlotte ran back to the group, who were all now standing on the couch and armchair they had been sitting on. She realized with growing dread that the water was above her knees. Georgie, who was crouched on the coffee table, held out her hand.

"Charlotte!" she called.

Charlotte gratefully grabbed it and got on the table, too.

"Has anyone tried the elevator or stairs?!" Lilah yelled.

"The door to the stairs are jammed, and the elevator has been turned off for some reason!" a voice yelled out.

"Did anyone call Captain Man and Kid Danger?!" Charlotte shouted.

"There's no connection here!" Mary yelled back. "Phones receiving and sending out transmissions would mess with our broadcasting equipment!"

"Well, then we need to broadcast this and hope they see!" Georgie said before Charlotte could.

"Okay, but what if all of it's wet and ruined? And how can we get to the broadcasting equipment? The water's gotta be six feet by now!" Emmy cried.

She was right. The water was rapidly rising. They'd be at the ceiling in no time. And there were no windows (other than the one with the pipe and a few other high industrial windows scattered around the floor) in order to control lighting for the camera, so they couldn't even open those to drain out the water.

Suddenly, the whir of an engine emanated the room. A janitorial closet door flew open, and a man on a sleek, gray jetski with some attachments in the front shot out. Charlotte hated to admit it, but he was somewhat handsome. With his broad shoulders, blonde whooshy hair, slight stubble, strong jawline, and ocean green eyes, he could even give Ray a run for his money as Swellview's Most Attractive Man. He was wearing what appeared to be a lifeguard's uniform with red shorts and a white tank top. On his head was a red cap. Around his neck was a whistle, but more noticeable than that, was the disturbing amount of shark teeth.

"Don't you worry about the equipment," he shouted over the mass panic. "I got it all right here so the broadcast can begin!" He pulled out a walkie-talkie and spoke into it. "Yo, dude, I'm in, turn off the water for now."

Almost instantly, the whooshing of the water faded away. After a few seconds, Charlotte was sure the water had stopped rising. Looking at the walls and ceiling, if she had to guess, the water was probably eight to ten feet high. It was a good thing the ceiling was much higher.

If the dude on the jetski didn't have everyone's attention before, he did now.

"Hello, newspeoples!" he shouted. "Nice day for swimming, isn't it?"

"Who are you and what are you doing?!" Mary shouted.

"Like, why so serious? Just chill. You should smile a bit more, doll," the man replied. "The name's Broseidon, Lord of the Brocean. My assistant, Sharkira, unfortunately, can't join us right now, but he sends his regards."

All of a sudden, Broseidon's walkie-talkie crackled with static. He groaned and picked it up. "What, dude?!"

"I am not your, assistant," a voice hissed back. "I am your partner-in-crime."

"Yeah, yeah, okay," Broseidon said, rolling his eyes. He thrust the walkie talkie back in the holster on his waist.

Charlotte watched them carefully. So there was a guy on the outside, huh? She'd have to keep that in mind.

"Sorry about that, dudes," Broseidon looked back up, flashing a charming smile. "As I was saying, I hope you're all camera-ready, because we're about to begin!"

"Begin what?" one of the cameramen called.

"Begin my broadcast as Swellview's new big and bad."

* * *

The water hadn't risen in the past half hour. After Broseidon had started up the camera and equipment on the front of his jetski, he had leaned back and given a five minute speech about how he had some local personalities and other civilians in his clutches. He had even panned the camera halfway for good measure, gloating throughout the entire thing. He had demanded an appropriate ransom be brought to him in the next two hours or everyone on the floor would drown.

Now, everyone was standing or sitting solemnly on random pieces of furniture as they floated around the room. There was occasional muttering, but Broseidon didn't seem too worried. He was sprawled over his seat with sunglasses covering his eyes. For all they knew, he was asleep. Judging by the light trail of drool escaping his mouth, he probably was.

If Charlotte had to guess, the video had been broadcasted on the channel that the Daily News usually came on. Which meant everyone in Swellview had seen it. She could only hope Ray, Henry, Jasper, or Schwoz had seen.

"Hey, Charlotte, I'm kind of really scared right now," Georgie whispered. The redhead hadn't let go of Charlotte once since the self-proclaimed Lord of the Brocean had made his appearance.

"I could tell by the vice grip you've had on my arm in the past half hour." Charlotte said, uncomfortably shifting her arm. She could swear there would be nail marks if she were to check.

"Sorry," Georgie replied, loosening her grip only slightly. "But I don't know how to swim. I'm really scared of falling off. Can we just stay really still so we don't fall?"

Charlotte nodded.

There were a few more moments of quiet. Charlotte wondered if Henry and Ray would ever show up. If not, was City Hall at least attempting to arrange a rescue or for their ransom to be paid?

Suddenly, as if some higher power had been listening and decided pay her back for all her good deeds in the world, there were a loud series of knocks. Broseidon jumped up with a yelp, falling into the water in the process. He sputtered and flailed, but no one gave him a second glance.

Charlotte looked behind her to see shadows outside the opaque glass of the industrial windows. With a smirk, she realized that the large shadow was a helicopter - and if she was making the colors out right, it was the Mancopter. Then those knocks had probably been Captain Man checking to see how thick the glass was.

Which meant he and Kid Danger were about to crash in.

"DUCK!" she shouted to everyone nearby, and covered her head, pulling Georgie down and urging the others to do the same. Most people looked confused, but did as told.

 _CRASH_.

Glass scattered everywhere, and there was a thud. After a few seconds, Charlotte looked up, shaking the shards off her as much as possible without rocking the coffee table she had been crouched on.

"It's Captain Man!" Trent called.

"And more importantly, Kid Danger!" Evelyn retorted. That's funny, Charlotte didn't even remember her being in the building.

The statements, however, were enough to make everyone cheer and applaud for their heroes. Captain Man and Kid Danger were there, having swung in through the window, and were now standing on the desk Mary and Trent used for news broadcasts.

"Kid Danger!" Georgie squealed next to her. "Oh my god, maybe I can get an interview after this!"

"Can we focus on living through this first?" Charlotte begged. The last thing Captain Man and Kid Danger needed was a fangirl on their heels. It had been fine when it was just stupid planetary rocks at stake, but this was her _life_ on the line.

At that moment, Kid Danger looked their way out of curiosity, recognizing the voices. Almost immediately, Charlotte wished she had ducked her head. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw her, and he let out a strangled choke.

"Keep calm, everyone." Captain Man said, waving a hand at the people in the room. Just then, he noticed his sidekick's twisted face. "Uh, kid, are you okay there?"

He looked up, following Kid Danger's line of sight until his eyes landed on Charlotte. Despite having been a superhero much longer, his reaction was no better. He dramatically inhaled, bringing his fist up to his mouth.

Charlotte personally couldn't help but roll her eyes. It's not like she hadn't been at a scene before to see them fight. Granted, she had rarely been in a situation where she was in danger as well, but that was no reason for them to start being unprofessional and only look out for her.

"Aren't you going to do anything to stop Broseidon, Captain Man?" Charlotte prompted loudly, hoping to draw the two's attention to the matter.

"Right! Thanks...random citizen," Captain Man said. "Uh, where'd he go?"

Indeed, Broseidon had disappeared into the water. While a part of her believed he might have drowned, Charlotte wasn't so cruel as to wish it. As Captain Man and Kid Danger frantically argued among themselves (with a few looks thrown her way) and moved into action to scan the area, Georgie tugged her into a crouch.

"What was that all about?" Georgie whispered to Charlotte.

"What was what all about?" Charlotte quickly said.

"The whole staring thing!" Georgie hissed. "I know I didn't hallucinate it! Why were they staring at you like they saw a ghost or something?!"

"They probably weren't staring at me," Charlotte shrugged, hoping to play it off. "They might have just recognized _you_."

"Oh my god, you really think he remembers me?" Georgie said, before starting to ramble about how cute Kid Danger had looked while looking their way.

 _Real cute,_ Charlotte thought. _Especially when his jaw almost fell off. Maybe I should just jump into the water and let myself drown._

"Hey, what's all the whispering about?" Emmy called from a few feet away on the couch. She and Lilah were casually sitting, as if they were getting ready to watch a good movie. Mary was actually standing up on the armchair, grumbling every so often and looking around the room.

"Hey, ladies, not to be a buzzkill, but can we just turn it down a notch so I can SAVE YOU?" Captain Man said through clenched teeth, getting more agitated with each word. He was currently lying belly down on the anchor's table, attempting to peer underwater and obviously becoming frustrated with his lack of success.

They immediately hushed up to Charlotte's relief. The last thing she wanted was for Georgie to loudly proclaim all of Kid Danger's finest attributes (and Charlotte had to admit, the view from the coffee table was pretty good) while he was right there. Lord knew the boy had a bit of an ego problem already.

Kid Danger, for his part, was using a harpoon to a pipe on the ceiling to swing around to different vantage points, trying to catch a glimpse of their villain. However, he was also constantly glancing back at her. Charlotte pretended not to notice, but internally, she was screaming at Henry to get a grip. She was fine! He could see that she was very much fine!

 _Idiot,_ she affectionately thought to herself as she looked back at him. They made eye contact for a brief moment. She raised her eyebrows at him, sassing him the best that she could from across the room. He responded with a reassuring smirk of his own, having calmed down a bit from the initial alarm of her presence. But at the same time, she knew by the slight furrow of his brow that he was still distressed.

"Excuse me?" Georgie said, sounding deeply offended.

Charlotte snapped her head back so fast she was sure she heard a crack. With a bit of dread, she realized that she had spoken aloud.

"How is Kid Danger an idiot? He's trying to save us right now!" Georgie hissed, leaning close to Charlotte's face.

"That's not what I meant," Charlotte replied. And things had been going along so _well_ between them. Was a little slip of the tongue really going to be the end-all, be-all for their finally budding friendship?

"Honestly, Charlotte, do you just not like him?" Georgie frowned at her. "I thought you were trying to help me by getting me a meeting, but you weren't going to do it at all, were you? You don't want to have anything to do with him, do you?"

"Uh, guys, you should be quiet so Captain Man and Kid Danger can do their thing," Emmy tried to interject.

"Georgie, he's a superhero's sidekick who's saved the people of the city so many times, who's trying to save us right now!" Charlotte exclaimed. "What reason do I have to not like him?"

"No, I got it then. You meant me, didn't you? It all makes sense now." Georgie looked heartbroken for a second, and Charlotte could see some of her own insecurities in the older girl. "You think I'm a fool for even considering a guy like him liking such a normal person like myself. Is that it? Or do you just not like me? Since I've been such a total bitch."

"Listen, a heart-to-heart is nice and would help with all this underlying tension, but I'd personally prefer if we could do this at a time when we didn't have to live in fear of dying if that dude-bro gets back and Captain Man can't stop him because he was too busy mediating this," Lilah said, talking quickly to get her point across.

Charlotte reached forward with the intent of putting her hand on Georgie's shoulder. "Just listen to me! You're getting it all-"

Unfortunately, at that moment, Georgie flinched back, pushing Charlotte away with her free hand. What happened next was pretty hard to follow, despite all the eyes in the room being drawn in their direction at that point due to the increasing volume of their argument - the table, which was already wobbly on the water, flipped over. While Georgie had hooked her arm on the coffee table's leg and managed to climb back on, Charlotte had not been so lucky. With a large splash, Charlotte found herself dunked in the water.

In the darkness underneath the surface, Charlotte choked as she attempted to swim up. But as she did, a flash of red caught her eye near the ground.

All of a sudden, something wrapped around her waist and she was pulled up and out of the water. Charlotte came up, gasping for air. Kid Danger was right there in the water with her, wading to stay afloat while grabbing her arms to support her, muttering that he had her and she was okay. Faintly, she could hear the others asking if she was okay, and Lilah was definitely berating Georgie. But all Charlotte could do was keep a tight hold of the boy in front of her, filling her lungs with air. When she was sure she was fine, she loosened her grip on him, squirming until he did the same.

"Sorry, but I need to check something," she said before she dived down again.

"WHAT THE HECK?!" she faintly heard him shout from under the water.

There, walking on the ground, was a figure in a scuba suit, and next to him was Broseidon. Both had an oxygen tank strapped to their back, which explained why they were able to stay down there to hide for so long. But what was more worrying than that was four cyborg sharks next to them, which both figures in the water were swimming back and forth between. The red glint was the red transmitter ball on their fins. With a gasp (which naturally caused some air bubbles to leave her mouth), Charlotte realized what they were about to do.

It had barely been two seconds, but before she could get a better look, she was pulled up out of the water.

She inhaled and opened her eyes to find herself staring into a pair of doe eyes covered in silver makeup - which was running - and a mask. A part of her had to commend the adhesive on the mask, as it wasn't even peeling off. Most of her was worried about the current situation.

"What were you thinking?! Why are you in the water in the first place?!" he demanded, before taking a mocking tone. "What part of you went ' _Oh hey, I'll just go for a little swim while my life is on the line and a sociopathic dude-bro is on the loose!'_ "

She groped Kid Danger's shoulders, shivering a bit from the cold air hitting her face. "We need to get out of the water. Now."

"Too little, too late," Broseidon shouted, making a reappearance. He climbed out of the water and onto his jetski, taking off scuba equipment and shaking water out of his hair. "Captain Man and Kid Danger. It seems you've fallen right into my trap."

"What trap?" Captain Man demanded, standing his full height and getting ready to fight. "The one where you use the most cliched lines possible?"

Broseidon made a face.

"No, bruh! The trap where you're cornered and I can raise the ransom while getting the sweet reward of humiliating you," he said. He picked up his walkie-talkie from the side of the jetski. "Alright, Sharkira, release the cyborg-sharks!"

"Oh shit," Kid Danger said.

* * *

Charlotte had to give Henry credit. He was getting pretty good at this superhero business.

When he heard Broseidon voice his attack, he instantly moved into action. Before Charlotte even knew what had happened, he had flipped her onto his back and was kicking his feet at about a tenth of sonic speed (she knew for sure, she had run the tests and concluded he'd get faster in time) in the water to get them out.

But she didn't have to go along with it.

"Hey!" he gasped, stopping his pace to claw at her arms around her neck with his right arm. "Loosen your hold, are you trying to kill the guy who's trying to save you?!"

"I can swim on my own!" she protested, trying to slide off his back. However, he kept his grip on her thigh firm with his free hand.

"Not against a cyborg-shark, you don't!" he insisted, before continuing to swim farther away from the group and Captain Man until he reached a piece of high, dry, furniture a little ways off from Evelyn Hall. Kid Danger boosted Charlotte on top of the filing cabinet, and as she wrung out her hair and clothes, he climbed on as well.

"What is going on? How'd you fall off?" he demanded.

Charlotte immediately pushed his face away and threw a furtive glance Georgie's way. Sure enough, the redhead was staring their way, a haughty scowl back on her face. Too bad, Charlotte was actually enjoying the other Georgie. On the other hand, Emmy and Lilah appeared to be attempting to console her, but seemed concerned with her, too, occasionally looking up at her. Nobody looked particularly pleased by Kid Danger being so close to her. Georgie for obvious reasons, and Emmy and Lilah for how it was tearing their group apart.

"Georgie pushed me," Charlotte dismissively replied.

"What?!"

"By accident, of course," Charlotte added as an afterthought.

Yeah, it was petty revenge, but necessary. She could hold a grudge. Especially for ruining her hair. She pushed back her limp, wet curls which were falling in her eyes. It would take hours to dry. Looking up again, she saw Georgie still staring at her, but her look had softened. She actually seemed...guilty?

"Kid! Get back here, she'll be fine!" Captain Man called from across the room where he was with the other girls.

Kid Danger was ready to dive back into the water, but Charlotte grabbed his arm. "Wait! The sharks!"

The water was filled with at least eight of them. When Charlotte and Kid Danger had been in the water, the sharks had been released one by one, and it was easy to avoid them and get out. But now, with more than eight cyborg-sharks on the loose, it seemed unlikely that Kid Danger could swim back to Captain Man without getting surrounded. Especially with two sharks swimming in circles around the filing cabinet they were on top of.

"Swing back with your harpoon," Charlotte advised.

"Right," Kid Danger nodded, groping his utility belt. Suddenly, he groaned and put his face in his hands, before pointing across the room. "Aghhh, I left it all the way there from when I was doing a survey of the room earlier."

"What! Is! Wrong! With! You?!" She emphasized each word with a slap on his bicep, and he recoiled. "How could you make such a rookie mistake?!"

"Hey, hey, stop! You're making me look bad in front of the entire media!" he hissed.

Charlotte froze and slowly turned her head to the side.

"Hey, Kid Danger, make sure when you say that you'll text her, you actually do!" Evelyn called out, only half kidding.

"LET IT GO, EVELYN!" Captain Man shouted. "Kid, can you get here or not?!"

"Can't!" Kid Danger called back.

"Will you all shut up?! I'm in charge!" Broseidon snapped, trying to gain control of the situation once more. Once again, no one was paying him any heed.

"You have to find a way to disable the sharks," Charlotte said, yelping and grabbing his arm to balance herself as one of the cyborg-sharks bumped its tail into the cabinet, making it wildly rock.

Kid Danger's reflexes kicked in and he shifted and put his foot down, calming the rocking, while simultaneously grabbing her by the waist to steady her. "Okay, yeah, let me just jump into the water and fight eight sharks at once!"

"I'm not saying you have to!" Charlotte rolled her eyes. How was this boy missing the obvious? "Make Ra-Captain Man fight the sharks and use your speed to catch Broseidon and make him stop the sharks!"

Kid Danger paused, his face lighting up in realization, and he lightly squeezed her side. Turning his head, he whispered into her hair, "This is why you're amazing."

Shocked, she tensed for a brief second, but before she could further react, he had let go so quickly that his lingering heat was the only thing that convinced her that she hadn't imagined the entire thing.

But of course he had to let go of her. After all, they had appearances to maintain. Charlotte was the innocent civilian who got caught up in a hostage situation, and Kid Danger was the teenage superhero sidekick trying to save them. There was no way they knew each other out of this situation. That small hug? Yeah, he totally did that with every girl he was saving.

From her peripheral, she could see Georgie blankly staring out at them, and she turned away.

"Yeah, yeah, now go do your job, Kid Danger," she said, a twinkle in her eye.

* * *

Kid Danger had pulled out his communicator and had whispered the plan to the holograph of Captain Man, while the real him listened intently from his side of the room. While he could have yelled it across the studio, that would very obviously alert their foes. So he had gone with his communicator, which was surprisingly still working, considering that he had been drenched from when he had jumped into the water to save Charlotte.

"No way!" Captain Man protested. "Why can't you be the shark fodder while I fight?!"

"Because, you're indestructible! Now shut up and jump in," Charlotte hissed from the side of her mouth, while she looked up, pretending she wasn't completely aware of the situation.

"But it's still gonna hurt," Captain Man whined in resignation.

Charlotte watched as Captain Man shut off his communicator at his side of the room, looked up, nodded at his sidekick, and jumped into the water with a grimace. She wished she had a camera (or that her phone still worked and wasn't flooded), so that she could have taken a picture of his twisted expression.

The second he jumped in, almost all the cyborg sharks started swarming towards him, circling around. One had entered the ring they had formed and was currently wrestling with Captain Man, who was attempting to rip off the red transmitter ball on the fin as per Charlotte's instructions. So far, it looked like the shark was winning.

"Broseidon's distracted, I'm gonna go," Kid Danger said softly. "And for my sake, please try not to fall in again."

" _I'll_ be fine," she whispered back. "Worry about yourself. You may be fast, but you can still get hurt."

He smiled reassuringly as he quietly slipped into the water, winked at Charlotte, and dove underwater before jetting off to the jetski at the center of the room.

Broseidon had turned on the camera and broadcasting equipment again and was currently recording Captain Man while taunting him (and Swellview).

"Like, you're totally about to lose your savior, dudes!" He laughed. "So are you gonna pay up or should we wait until after he's been torn into shreds?"

"That's! Not! Possible!" Captain Man shouted as he shook a shark off his leg in the water. He smashed in the fin, effectively breaking the transmitter and letting the metal body sink into the water.

By this point, Kid Danger had gotten on top of the jetski and was standing behind Broseidon. It was a miracle how he managed to get on without seriously rocking the vehicle and alerting the villain of his presence, but he had nearly slipped and fallen over at first, leading to a comical balancing act. When he finally gained stability, he crept forward, and in a flash, had Broseidon's arms twisted behind his back and head pinned against the handlebars as he handcuffed the man. In a final move, he grabbed the tiny black remote from Broseidon's and pressed a button after a second of scrutiny. As he did, the sharks in the water froze and sunk to the floor and Captain Man whooped loudly and swam to a floating desk to climb on.

"Looks like you're _fin_ -ished," Kid Danger said, looking entirely too smug at the pun.

Charlotte groaned at the quip while most people cheered. Nevertheless, she fondly nodded at him in approval when he turned to her with a smile. However, his cheerful expression immediately dropped and turned into one of panic.

"Charlotte!" Kid Danger called out.

Just then, someone grabbed her from behind and pulled her back until she hit something hard. An arm encircled her shoulders and she gasped as a stun gun was pointed at her neck.

* * *

 **A/N: I really had fun writing this, and hope you guys enjoyed reading it, too.** **Unfortunately I kind of suck at action scenes, so feel free to let me know if anything isn't clear. You all know what to do - review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I present to you the final part of _Elevated Over Me -_ the title, by the way, comes from the song Elevated by RKCB. Hopefully, no matter which part of the story you got attached to, I leave you all satisfied. I know Henry and Charlotte are (*wink*).**

 **Disclaimer~ I don't own Henry Danger.**

* * *

As Charlotte struggled against her captor, she mentally berated herself. How could she forget about the accomplice? Broseidon had even named him - Sharkira, was it? She had even seen him underwater with the sharks. She continued struggling against the strong grip, attempting to pry the cold fingers off her shoulder.

"Let me go!" she shrieked.

Her friends from their spot on the couches gasped, and Georgie looked near tears.

"Captain Man, do something!" Emmy shouted.

"Let her go," Captain Man growled. He jumped onto a nearby ottoman and over a soundboard to another table to get closer.

"Don't try anything smart," a gravelly voice behind her said. "Stay where you are, or I shoot. Let my bro go."

Lilah loudly groaned. "Oh my god, not another dude-bro," she said, putting her head in her hands. "I can't watch."

"Hey!" Sharkira shouted, his chest vibrating. He violently shook her, and she clamped down on the arm around her neck for some stability. She kept up her struggle, but his grip was too strong.

"Let go of her." Kid Danger's eyes had narrowed dangerously, and if not for the stun gun in his enemy's hands and the fact that he was currently holding a criminal, he surely would have surged forward. "Leave her out of this, your fight is with us!"

"Really?" Sharkira confidently replied. "Well, you like, know Gwen, right? Well, you won't believe the things she told us once we, you know, threatened to drop her in our tank."

Charlotte immediately stiffened. Did that mean these guys also knew about Ray and Henry? The crime-fighting duo seemed to have picked up on that, and looked very panicked as they surveyed the media surrounding them.

"Oh, don't worry too much," Sharkira droned on. "Apparently she made an oath to, like, keep your identities or something? Psh, lame. What kind of villain has an honor code anymore anyway? But, like, she only promised to keep _your_ identities a secret. You know what that means?"

He pinched Charlotte's cheek, and she wished that the water would just come up, pluck her out of this guy's grip, and drown her. It would be a much better fate than the one she could foresee, undoubtedly filled with too many questions to keep up with, god forbid anyone catch on to what Sharkira was pretty much straight out saying. Not to mention her safety, and the actual risk she posed to Kid Danger's identity should anyone see her with Henry and put together one blonde teenage boy with another. And if they had that, it would only be a matter of time before they figured out that Ray was Captain Man. It was a downward spiral from here, and it all started with her.

"So what will it be, Kid Danger?" Sharkira was undoubtedly grinning widely. "Will you let my partner go, or are you willing to lose-"

Before he could say anything else, however, Captain Man flicked his wrist and a laser shot out of his watch, hitting Sharkira square in the forehead. Everyone in the room simultaneously let out a sigh of relief before erupting in cheers once again.

"Aglughoooo," Sharkira drooled incoherently from the hit, dropping the stun gun and slumping over on Charlotte, whose knees buckled from his weight. She threw him off and he dropped like a sack of potatoes behind her on the filing cabinet, twitching in his unconsciousness.

"I am _so_ done with today," she groaned, staring at his pathetic form curled in a ball.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her shoulders. Before she could punch whoever was making yet another grab at her, they pulled her close, holding her tightly. She inhaled.

 _Peppermint,_ she thought, wrinkling her nose. _Henry._

Charlotte couldn't bring herself to wrap her arms around him in return. He was still in his Kid Danger uniform, and they already faced a massive information leak. But she was also _so_ exhausted, and he was right there (a part of her still couldn't get over how fast he was). Relenting, she slumped her side against his chest, her arms coming up to circle one of his for support.

"That was bad," she whispered. "Really, really bad."

"Yeah," he whispered back. When she looked up, she could see the sheen of unshed tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Char, it's all my fault."

Looking behind him, she could make out Captain Man approaching them, Broseidon in tow. His look was severe. Unwillingly, she pushed Kid Danger away.

"Later," Charlotte promised when he tried to protest. Despite the gravity of the situation, she couldn't help but duck her head to hide a small smile. He hadn't really said anything obvious, but she could tell. He cared for her. She knew it before, of course, but until now, she had never really realized just how much.

* * *

"This way, ma'am - oh, it's just you," Captain Man glared at Evelyn, who pushed past him with a huff.

"Kid Danger, are you ready?" Evelyn Hall called into the hole in the wall.

Captain Man and Kid Danger were now facilitating the evacuation of all the citizens. They had made the hole with their lasers just above water level so the water wouldn't spill out of the floor, and then kicked out the patch. Kid Danger had promptly jumped out into the landing of the staircase behind the wall, so as Captain Man guided people through the pool in the room safely to their own exit, the sidekick could make sure they had a safe landing, as the drop was about six feet.

"Ready!" Kid Danger called. He caught Evelyn with a grunt when she jumped, and gently set her on her feet.

"Well we all know who the real hero is," she grinned impishly and patted his chest. Kid Danger sheepishly smiled back with a light blush. Before he could say anything, however, she slapped his chest.

"Ow!" he rubbed the spot.

"Seriously, though," Evelyn narrowed her eyes. "I'll be keeping tabs, so make sure you do text that girl."

His jaw dropped as he watched her walk away and down the stairs, a sway in her hips and a squeak in her steps from her soaked shoes hitting the hard ground.

"Hey, kid." Kid Danger looked up and saw Captain Man peeking out from the hole. "Don't pay too much attention to her, no one else does."

"I HEARD THAT!" a voice called from a floor down.

"WELL, GOOD, 'CAUSE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO!" Captain Man indignantly yelled back.

"Dude, chill," Kid Danger said with a slight smirk.

Captain Man made a face and looked back into the studio to do a headcount. "Okay, we only have Mary Gaperman, Charlotte, and her friends left. Oh, and Broseidon and Sharkira."

"Get Charlotte first," Kid Danger said, a slight plea in his voice.

"Gotcha," Captain Man replied with a knowing look before turning back. He threw his harpoon so it hooked onto the filing cabinet Charlotte was standing on and pulled it back to him. Charlotte jumped onto the desk that Captain Man was using as a platform.

"Get them out soon," Charlotte said to him, jerking her thumb back at her friends. She looked back at them to give them a reassuring smile before she took the leap.

Sure enough, Kid Danger caught her. However, unlike with Evelyn, he didn't immediately put her down. Instead, he stared at her face, his brow furrowed, as if he was searching for the answer to an impossible problem.

"Hey, Hen, maybe you sho-" she started, a bit flustered, only to be cut off.

By his lips.

On her lips.

Charlotte squeaked in surprise, but after a moment of hesitance she returned the kiss. It was...nice. They were both soaked to the bone, and every point of contact between them felt like fire compared to the cold air hitting their wet skin and clothes. She brought her arm up to circle his shoulder, pressing herself closer to him. Just as she started enjoying the feeling of his lips on hers, though, he pulled away faster than he had come onto her.

"Sorry," Kid Danger - _Henry_ , she told herself, as he had the uniform on but that had all been the boy behind the mask - said, his voice slightly hoarse. He set her down, and backed away a step.

"It's fine," she croaked back, feeling severely overwhelmed with what had just happened. Her cheeks were burning, and looking at the blood rushing up to Henry's face under his mask, he was feeling the same heat.

"Not the kiss," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "I'm not sorry about kissing you, I'm just sorry for not asking and kind of attacking you, and I'm sorry you had to go through that in there, that was all-"

Captain Man cleared his throat from above them, and they looked up. "Kid, I'm sending down the girls," Captain Man said, a small smile on his face.

If possible, Charlotte felt her face burning even more in mortification at the thought that their _boss_ had seen them. Kid Danger, on the other hand, groaned a bit in frustration, letting go of her to ready himself under the hole.

"Ready!" he called. Georgie dropped down, a mass of red curls and wet clothes. She hit Kid Danger's arms with a smack, and to Charlotte's surprise, instead of relishing the moment, she jumped up and ran forward, wrapping her arms around Charlotte's neck.

"I'm so, so sorry!" Georgie cried, her body shaking slightly.

Charlotte froze in shock, but slowly brought her arms up to wrap them around the older girl's torso. She lightly squeezed. "I'm fine, girl, so stop your crying," she tried to joke.

"No," Georgie said, clearly distressed as she let go to look at Charlotte. "I mean it. I almost killed you! You fell after I pushed you, and after we got separated, everything went wrong."

"Fair enough," Charlotte said. At Georgie's shocked expression to her relenting, she rolled her eyes. "I'm kidding. Listen, it's not your fault. I fell into the water because of you, but that could have happened at any point because of anyone. Broseidon and Sharkira were the ones who nearly got me killed, not you. Don't blame yourself."

Charlotte leaned forward and grabbed Georgie's face, lifting it so their eyes could meet and squishing her cheeks. "Repeat after me - 'it's not my fault.'"

"Oh, you better," Kid Danger said with a laugh, leaning against the banister of the staircase. Georgie looked at him from the corner of her eyes, considering how she couldn't turn her head. Kid Danger continued his teasing. "She can get real scary."

Charlotte threw a warning glare at him.

"I'm guessing," he quickly covered up.

"Don't you have girls to catch?" Charlotte snapped.

"Right!" he said, eyes widening a bit in fear as he turned back to Captain Man to tell him to send down the next person.

Charlotte sharply turned back to Georgie. "I haven't heard you say it yet."

"It's not my fault," Georgie repeated with a teary laugh.

Charlotte let go with a smile, clearly satisfied. "And just so you know, I don't think you're an idiot. I was kind of talking to myself at the moment, since I felt like I couldn't do anything. I was just frustrated with myself. " Charlotte continued, referring back to their blow-up before she had fallen. She felt a little bad that she was lying to her friend after they had just made up, but it was necessary. "And you're not a fool for going after a guy you like. You're not some plain girl. You're awesome, and anyone would be lucky to have you. You don't need anyone else to be great, Georgie."

Georgie smiled, pink dusting her cheeks. "Thanks, Charlotte."

"Whoooooo!"

Both girls jumped and whirled around to see Emmy and Lilah behind them, the latter of whom was cheering.

"Some girls empowering other girls," Lilah said with a wink. "I can get behind that."

"Get over here," Emmy said with a laugh, dragging them all into a group hug. "I'm glad you're okay, Charlotte. And I am soooo glad you guys worked it out! See, I told you we didn't need to get involved, Lilah!"

"Yeah, yeah, stop nagging me, woman!" Lilah replied as they all let go.

"Looks like mom and mom are fighting again," Georgie smiled.

"Aww, you girls are so adorable," Mary said as she came up behind them, followed by Kid Danger.

Kid Danger surveyed the group with a nod. "Okay, I suggest you all start going down. I'll be right behind you to escort you out while Captain Man loads the criminals on to the Mancopter and takes them to jail. Just give me a minute."

All of them turned to go down, except for Georgie, who stood there, her face scrunched up in confusion.

"Are you coming?" Charlotte said, noticing how the other girl hadn't moved.

"Uh, just a sec," Georgie replied. "Kid Danger? How did you know Charlotte's name?"

Charlotte froze, looking at Kid Danger in panic, her eyes nearly falling out. And she had been so sure that no one had noticed! He looked equally taken aback, but quickly composed himself. He smirked and leaned against the wall behind him.

"She's my Iris West." He winked.

"Oh." (Emmy.)

"My." (Lilah.)

"God." (Mary.)

"Seriously?!" Georgie exclaimed. However, instead of looking mad that her self-given title had been devoted to another girl, and not just any girl, but the girl that she'd kind of been competing with up until this point, Georgie looked starstruck. _For_ her. Her smile was huge as her eyes flitted between the two, Charlotte with her deer-caught-in-headlights expression and Kid Danger with his smug pose. She clasped her hands together and brought up to her chest. It was clear that she was re-imagining every romantic fantasy she had of Kid Danger in the past couple weeks with Charlotte as the lead instead of her.

"Nah, I just heard you say it," Kid Danger followed up, shaking his head slightly and chuckling. "I heard your name, too. You're Georgie, right?"

Georgie cocked her head, and when she couldn't remember whether they said each other's names in front of him, she found nothing wrong with the argument. Huffing in annoyance, she nodded and continued following her friends as they made their way down the stairs.

Meanwhile, Charlotte was trying really hard not to freak out. He had called her his Iris West. And while he may have brushed it off as a joke, she knew the truth. He had admitted that they weren't just friends (although the kiss had been a pretty good hint). Her stomach lurched. She may have been the one to say that they should talk later, but she suddenly felt very impatient. Later needed to happen _now_.

* * *

Charlotte browsed her phone to see she had seven missed calls and messages from Henry. After the whole debacle at the news station, she had been forced into a brief medical examination by the personnel outside the building at the site. Afterward, she had run home to change into some dry clothes, and then got caught up in dinner with Mary Gaperman and Evelyn Hall, who had invited her and her friends out to make up for the interview for their journalism class project. And that was when she realized her phone was still waterlogged, and had gone to her provider's branch to get it replaced. By then, it was almost 11 pm. When her new phone turned on, she saw she had seven calls - seven missed opportunities to talk with Henry. Luckily, it seemed he was still waiting in the Man Cave. So she had hopped on her bike and rode down to Junk N' Stuff, using her staff key to get in even though the store was closed.

Now, she rode down the elevator and stared in anticipation at her phone. Just a few more seconds….

The elevator landed as roughly as usual, and she stumbled out the door, only to see Henry pacing back and forth in the center of the Man Cave, oblivious to her entrance.

"I don't know, guys," he was saying, clearly frustrated as he came to a stop in front of Jasper and Schwoz who were sitting on the couch, watching him as they ate chips and guacamole. "Maybe I freaked her out by kissing her. Maybe that's why she's not coming. That has to be it."

"Wow, your guac really is amazing!" Jasper exclaimed.

"Guys, guys!" Henry exclaimed, seeming ready to tear out his hair. "Are you even paying attention?!"

"Yeah, yeah," Schwoz dismissively waved his hand. "You have some girl problems."

"Not just any girl!" Henry said, staring off into space. "It's Charlotte!"

"Charlotte?" Schwoz snorted. "You mean the Charlotte standing at the elevator?"

"Yeah, of course I mean the Charlotte standing at the eleva- wait, what?!" Henry whirled around to see Charlotte, who waved at him sheepishly.

"Hey, Hen," was all she said.

He surged forward and immediately hugged her. "You're actually here! I'm so glad to see you, Char."

She awkwardly hugged him back. What was happening to her? A second ago she had been elated to see him, and now she was suddenly feeling so nervous.

He let go of her and they stared at each other, waiting for the other to start.

"So…"

"So…"

All of a sudden the room went dark, circles of light danced around the room, and music filled the air. _"Girl, you know I want you…"_

Henry immediately spun around. "Schwoz!" he yelled. "Not. Helping!"

"Sorry, sorry," the small man said, pushing his remote. Immediately, the room reverted to normal.

Henry gave both Jasper and Schwoz a look. They nodded at him, as if he should proceed. Henry continued staring at them, and when they didn't get the hint, he jerked his head at tubes. The stare-off continued, and Schwoz and Jasper nodded slowly in sync, as if expecting Henry to continue whatever declaration of undying love he had planned with them right there. Henry once again jerked his head to the tubes, even more wildly this time.

"Oh, for the love of-!" Charlotte cut herself off, shaking her head. "Jasper, Schwoz, get out!"

"Yes, ma'am," Jasper muttered, jumping up and running to the tubes with Schwoz on his heels, who was grumbling about having to leave.

"I still win the bet," Jasper cheekily grinned at Schwoz as the tubes descended on them. "Up the tube!"

As the two disappeared, Charlotte looked over at Henry.

"Hey, about earlier," he started, his arm going to scratch his neck. "I'm so sorry about kissing you without making sure it was cool. I kind of did it really suddenly, and I totally get if you hate me, and I'm so sorry for hugging you right now when we're still not sure where we stand, I was just really excited to see you actually showed up. And also it's my fault what happened back there with that guy holding you hostage-"

"Henry," Charlotte cut him up, watching him as he nervously licked his lips.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up and let me kiss you again," she said, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and pulling him down, their noses knocking into each other.

Unlike their relatively chaste kiss from before, this one was more... _more_. Henry's hands encircled her waist, and pulled her flush against him. Her arm wrapped around his shoulders, resting on the nape of his neck, while the other gently released his shirt before tracing his neck up to cup his face. All she could think, all she could feel was him. _Everything_ was him. It was dizzying, and she loved it. It wasn't her first kiss (the stupid truth-or-dare game and Blake Kennedy from their middle school graduation party came to mind), but it definitely was the first where she felt like her entire world was expanding, just to let one other person in. They were in their own universe.

Charlotte pulled away first this time, mainly because it was becoming a bit painful to stand on her tip-toes in her stupid, flat, open-toed sandals. And Henry, bless his soul, had been cooperating, but he could only lean his head down so far.

She leaned back into his arms, dropping on her heels with a sigh. Her arms came down to circle his torso

"So is this a thing now?" he asked, a grin threatening to split his face despite how he was trying to be serious for her sake.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Charlotte hugged him, giggling a bit at how his face had lit up, and he immediately hugged her back, rocking slightly in place. "So how long have you liked me?"

"Honestly?" Henry pulled back, rubbing his nose affectionately against hers. "A while. You?"

"A while," she agreed. "Can't even remember when."

All of a sudden, his smile dropped. "Charlotte, I'm sorry."

"Why do you keep apologizing?" She pulled away, putting some distance between them and crossing her arms. If he wanted to be serious about this, they'd be serious. "First the kiss, and well, that's more than okay now, but then you keep trying to apologize for what happened back at the news station as if it's your fault." She eyed him up and down, before demanding, "Do I need to do with you what I did with Georgie?"

"No, you do not," Henry replied, eyes wide. He sighed, pulling her to the couch and sitting so their knees bumped. He took her hand. "What happened at the news station - they didn't go after you 'cause you're some random civilian they were using for leverage. They knew what they were doing. Gwen told them they could use you to get to us...to get to me."

"Henry, it's okay, though," Charlotte tried to comfort him.

"No, it's really not." Henry frustratedly ran a hand through his hair. "You were in danger today because you're _my_ friend. Well, more than friend, now. This wouldn't have happened if we weren't this close, if you didn't know about me being Kid Danger."

"You mean this wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been so smart as to figure it out," Charlotte snorted.

"Yeah," he gave her a weak smile. He was silent for a moment. "Charlotte, all I'm saying is you nearly died because you knew me. It may have been okay this time, but what about the next time this happens? I mean, they didn't even choose to attack the news station because of you, it was just a convenient coincidence. And if you weren't there today, they'd still know about you. And we would have no idea until it was too late. So many things could have gone wrong. And that's why-"

"Oh hell no," Charlotte cut him off for the second time that night, narrowing her eyes at him. "You don't get to pull the bullshit hero move where you tell me to stay away from you for 'my own good'! I'm not gonna do that, and you know it. You don't think I knew the risk when I asked for this job? Of course I did! And I already had to deal with Dr. Minyak and Nurse Cohort. This stuff happens, but I'm not gonna leave just because it gets tough. You can also get hurt, Henry! But you take the risk. And I'm willing to take the risk, too. I wanna be with you, even if it's a little dangerous sometimes."

Somewhere in the middle of her impassioned rant, she had stood up and had begun waving her arms and wildly gesturing. When she finished, her chest heaved as she took shallow breaths in an effort to calm down. She was supposed to be the rational one! And then there was Henry, making her go completely crazy. Then again, wasn't he always? She huffed and crossed her arms. That's what she got for loving a fool.

"I wasn't going to tell you that!" Henry looked really confused and slightly terrified. "I was just saying we should be more careful!"

"Oh." Charlotte sat back down demurely, feeling a bit underwhelmed with his response. _Scratch what I was thinking about him being a fool_ , she thought.

Henry chuckled and pulled her against him, taking her face in his hands and making her look up at him. "I would never tell you to stay away. Char, I couldn't last a day without you. You're the reason I ever get anything done, and not just done, but done right. You're why I'm not losing my chill half the time. You just really get me. You make my life so much better, you don't even know how you elevate me."

He softly smiled at her as he saw the shock dawn on her face. "Besides, the best way to protect you is to keep you close."

Charlotte snuggled against his chest, hiding her face in the crook of his neck out of embarrassment at the deep confession. "So what are we gonna do about Gwen running around potentially telling people all about me and Jasper, and what about Broseidon and Sharkira knowing?"

"Ray and I brain-wiped them," he promised. "They don't remember you...or anything for that matter. And Ray is currently hunting down Gwen. He'll bargain with her to keep her quiet. Best case scenario, he smashes her phone and she loses anything she has on us."

"Unless it's backed to the Cloud," Charlotte pointed out.

"Yikes," Henry shuddered at the memory of having to steal his sister's phone and deal with her wrath for the following month. How she managed to look so angry throughout her birthday was impressive, especially with their parents spoiling her left and right.

"And the media?" Charlotte said. "They all saw you hug me."

"No one made much of it," Henry said. "Just Kid Danger being a little extra nice to a pretty civilian girl after she went through some seriously traumatic stuff."

"Of course," Charlotte smiled.

"Of course," Henry repeated. "Yeah, and nobody really understood what Sharkira was saying. Most people probably don't even remember anything exact, since it happened so fast. But Evelyn Hall seems to think I have a thing for you."

"That would explain the weird looks she was giving me during dinner," Charlotte mused. Throughout the dinner at the Red Dragon, a local Chinese restaurant, Evelyn had been giving her knowing looks and even outright said at one point that she'd be checking in with Kid Danger as if Charlotte should know something about that. That was a bit worrying.

"So, what now?" Henry asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"I wouldn't mind kissing again," Charlotte smirked.

"Sounds goooood."

Charlotte giggled and leaned in to kiss him, glad that they were sitting for her toes' sakes. But before their lips could made contact, the room darkened once more, a disco ball descended, and the song played once more. " _And I'm feeling smoochy now…"_

"SCHWOZ!" Henry and Charlotte simultaneously yelled, and the foreign man came out of hiding from behind the tubes.

"Hello…." he sheepishly grinned.

"Can I please-?" Charlotte started.

"No, go ahead," Henry retracted his arms from around her, instead putting his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. He didn't blink twice as she ran up and after the technician, nor did he try to stop her when she caught up with him.

 _She's amazing_ , Henry thought instead, leaning back on the couch and watching her with a goofy smile as she made Schwoz emit a blood-curling scream, giddy with the thought of being hers.

* * *

 **A/N:** **This is the end, but it's a good ending.** **I hope you all enjoyed this story. It was amazing to see the overwhelming positive response since I hadn't expected so many people to like it as much as they did. Thank you all so much for you support, and I hope you continue to do so. Please, as always favorite, follow, and review!**


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